Anti-tumor potential of total alkaloid extract of Prosopis juliflora DC. leaves against Molt-4 cells in vitro

Abstract

The total alkaloid extract from Prosopis juliflora DC. leaves was obtained using acid/base modified extraction method. The in vitro anti-tumor potential of the extract was evaluated using MTT (3-(4,5- dimethythiazol-2yl)2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) based cytotoxicity monitoring after 24, 48 and 72 h exposure of the MOLT-4 cells (1×10⁶ cells/ml medium) to different concentration of the extract ranging from 10 to 100 μg/ml medium. The genotoxic potential of the extract was also tested using cytokinesis block in vitro micronucleus assay. Simultaneously, the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of the extract were compared with mitogen stimulated T-lymphocyte cultures derived from peripheral blood of healthy volunteers. The MTT test revealed that, the extract exhibited comparatively higher toxicity towards the cancer cells than the normal cells at all the tested concentrations and at all the time points studied. The IC₅₀ values of the extract at 24, 48 and 72 h were found to be 90.5, 42.5 and 20.0 μg/ml/1× 10⁶ cells against cancer cells. The genotoxic assay showed that, in both cultures, the number of micronuclei obtained even at the highest exposure concentration tested was very low when compared with that of the micronuclei obtained with the positive control mitomycin-C. The results of the present investigation demonstrate that, P. juliflora leaf alkaloids are preferentially cytotoxic to human T-cell leukemia (Molt-4) cells in a dose and time dependent manner with the absence of genotoxicity.

Key words: Prospis juliflora, alkaloids, molt-4 cells, MTT test, micronucleus assay.